When this year’s candidates for student member of the school board gathered Wednesday night for a debate, the discussion was hardly frivolous. Anne Arundel County’s Board of Education, unlike those elsewhere, grants its student members full voting rights.

The three students vying to be the 52nd student representative debated student mental health, school security and even whether a game of laser tag with fellow board members might be a good team-building exercise. They also outlined their policy priorities.

Michelle Fadele of Chesapeake High School, Brayden Morgan of Glen Burnie High School and Jack Warrick of Chesapeake Science Point are the finalists in the competition to represent Anne Arundel’s 84,000 students next year.

The three are experienced with student government, community service and working with the district’s administration and lawmakers. They also share some priorities, including promoting mental health resources, ensuring school security and making students feel heard, especially those historically underserved.

Fadele’s platform involves elevating student awareness of the student representative’s role and the Board of Education in general.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is trying to get all the students’ perspectives heard and listened to in our county because there are just so many different stories and experiences,” Fadele said. “Reaching out to those students who don’t initially know about SMOB and connecting them is the most important part, and making sure to filter all those different ideas into a place we can put in front of the Board of Education.”

Morgan shared that two years ago, he wouldn’t have predicted he would be competing for the most coveted student position in the county. When he started high school, he wasn’t on the honor roll or in a leadership position. But by his sophomore year, his school service liaison pushed him to develop his passion for community service.

“My journey to this moment has not been perfect, but it’s been real, and that’s exactly the kind of leadership I want to bring, one that’s honest, grounded and driven by experience,” Morgan said. “I believe we need a SMOB who knows what it’s like to face setbacks and still show up, who knows what it’s like to feel unheard.

Morgan said getting more involved in school changed his life, and he wants to make sure students know about the opportunities available to them.

“I wanted to have one overarching theme that my entire platform and all of my answers are centered around: fighting for the students. I am tireless in my efforts to make the student experience in AACPS the most promising, fulfilling and opportunity-filled experience possible,” Warrick said after the debate.

Warrick’s platform involves increasing early dismissal days, promoting magnet programs and ensuring college readiness tests are accessible and fair.

The candidates showed their personalities when asked: If you had to plan an outing with the Board of Education, what would it look like?

All three proposed ideas they said would build bonds and encourage teamwork and agreed that would involve food and fun activities. Fadele suggested a water fight or laser tag, Warrick proposed a picnic with field games and Morgan suggested an escape room.

Anne Arundel County is believed to be the only board of education in the country that gives its student members full voting rights, according to AACPS. The selection process is run by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils, the representative organization of all students enrolled in AACPS secondary schools.

According to CRASC bylaws, middle and high school students must register by April 14 to vote in the April 24 election. Each school will choose a delegation to represent them in the vote, with voting power equal to 15% of the school’s total enrollment. The elected candidate’s information will be sent to Gov. Wes Moore, who makes the final appointment.

The student representative serves a one-year term. Previously, the representative was given $8,000 in scholarship money, but this year, students campaigned for a bill increased the scholarship amount to $15,000 to match what other board members are paid. Moore signed the bill Tuesday.

The winner will succeed the current student representative, Hafsa Hamdaoui of Crofton High School, in July.

So far in her term, Hamdaoui has demonstrated how a student’s perspective can differ from that of adult board members. She cast the sole dissenting vote on next year’s academic calendar because some religious holidays were excluded. She has also spoken from the perspective of a generation that attends school fearing gun violence in discussions about non-invasive weapon detection systems, which could come to high schools next year.

Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com and 443-690-7205